Editing 2010: Odyssey Two (section)

==Plot==
A joint Soviet-American crew, including [[Heywood Floyd]], on the Soviet [[Spacecraft|spaceship]] ''Alexei Leonov'' (named after [[Alexei Leonov|the cosmonaut]]) arrives to discover what went wrong with the earlier mission, to investigate the [[Monolith (Space Odyssey)|monolith]] in orbit around Jupiter, and to resolve the disappearance of [[David Bowman (Space Odyssey)|David Bowman]]. They hypothesize that much of this information is locked away on the now-abandoned ''Discovery One''. The Soviets have an advanced new "[[Andrei Sakharov|Sakharov]]" drive which will propel them to Jupiter ahead of the American ''Discovery Two'', so Floyd is assigned to the ''Leonov'' crew.

However, a [[Chinese space program|Chinese space station]] rockets out of Earth orbit, revealing itself to be the interplanetary spacecraft ''[[Qian Xuesen|Tsien]]'', also aimed at Jupiter. The ''Leonov'' crewmembers think the Chinese are on a one-way trip due to its speed, but Floyd surmises that due to the large water content of [[Europa (moon)|Europa]] they intend to land there and use the water content to refuel. The ''Tsien''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s daring mission ends in failure, when it is destroyed by an indigenous lifeform on Europa. The only survivor, Professor Chang, radios the story to the ''Leonov'', confirming that life exists on the moon; it is presumed that he dies when his spacesuit air supply runs out.

The ''Leonov'' survives a dangerous [[aerobraking]] around Jupiter and arrives at ''Discovery'' (One). Mission crewmember and [[HAL 9000]]'s creator, Dr. Chandra, reactivates the computer to ascertain the cause of its earlier aberrant behavior. After some time, Floyd is speaking to Vasili Orlov on board, and Orlov, for an instant, sees the Monolith, dubbed "Big Brother", open into a Stargate again as David Bowman escapes from the Monolith's dimension back into ours. Unfortunately, Dr.&nbsp;Floyd is facing the wrong direction and therefore does not see this.

A sequence of scenes follows the explorations of David Bowman, who has been transformed into a non-[[Matter|corporeal]], energy-based lifeform, much like the aliens controlling the monoliths. During his journey, the [[avatar]] of Bowman appears on Earth, making contact with significant individuals from his past: He visits his mother and brushes her hair shortly before she dies, and he appears to his ex-girlfriend on her television screen. The aliens are using Bowman as a probe to learn about humankind. He then returns to the Jupiter system to explore beneath the ice of Europa, where he finds aquatic lifeforms, and under the [[clouds]] of Jupiter, where he discovers gaseous life-forms. Both are [[wikt:primitive|primitive]], but the aliens deem the Europan creatures to have evolutionary potential.

An apparition of Bowman appears before Floyd, warning him that they must leave Jupiter within fifteen days. Floyd has difficulty convincing the rest of the crew at first, but then the monolith vanishes from orbit.

The ''Leonov'' crew devises a plan to use the ''Discovery'' (One) as a "[[Booster (rocketry)|booster rocket]]", enabling them to return to Earth ahead of schedule. HAL and the ''Discovery'' (One) will be trapped in Jupiter's orbit, with insufficient fuel to escape. The crew are worried that HAL will have the same neurosis on discovering that he will be abandoned yet again, so Chandra must convince HAL that the human crew is in danger.

The ''Leonov'' crew flees Jupiter as a mysterious dark spot appears on Jupiter and begins to grow. HAL's telescope observations reveal that the "Great Black Spot" is, in fact, a vast population of monoliths, increasing at an exponential rate, which appear to be eating the planet. By acting as [[self-replicating machines]], these monoliths increase Jupiter's density until the planet achieves [[nuclear fusion]], becoming a small [[star]]. This obliterates the primitive life forms inhabiting the Jovian atmosphere, which the Monoliths' controllers had deemed highly unlikely to ever achieve intelligence, unlike the aquatic life of Europa.

As Jupiter is about to transform, Bowman returns to ''Discovery'' (One) to give HAL a last order to carry out. HAL begins repeatedly broadcasting the message

{{centre|<samp><poem>
ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS – EXCEPT EUROPA.
ATTEMPT NO LANDING THERE.
</poem></samp>}}

The creation of the new star, which Earth eventually names [[Lucifer]], destroys ''Discovery'' (One). However, in appreciation for HAL's help, Bowman has the aliens that control the monoliths remove HAL's artificial intelligence from ''Discovery''{{'}}s computer core and transform him into the same kind of entity as David Bowman, and become his companion.

===Epilogue===
The book ends with a brief epilogue, which takes place in the very distant future [[AD]] 20,001. 17,000 years after the events of the final novel, [[3001: The Final Odyssey]] (1997).

By this time, the [[Europa (moon)|Europans]] have evolved into a species that has developed a primitive civilization, most likely with assistance from a Monolith. They are not described in detail, though they are said to have "tendril"-like limbs. They regard the star Lucifer (formerly the planet Jupiter) as their primary sun, referring to Sol as "The Cold Sun". Though their settlements are concentrated primarily in the hemisphere of Europa which is constantly bathed in Lucifer's rays, some Europans have begun in recent generations to explore the Farside, the hemisphere facing away from Lucifer, which is still covered in ice. There they may witness the spectacle of night, unknown on the other side of Europa, when the Cold Sun sets.

The Europans who explore the Farside have been carefully observing the night sky and have begun to develop a mythology based on their observations. They correctly believe that Lucifer was not always there. They believe that the Cold Sun was its brother and was condemned to march around the sky for a crime. The Europans also see three other major bodies in the sky. One seems to be constantly engulfed in fire, and the other two have lights on them which are gradually spreading. These three bodies are the moons [[Io (moon)|Io]], [[Callisto (moon)|Callisto]], and [[Ganymede (moon)|Ganymede]], the latter two of which are presently being colonised by humans.

Humans have been attempting to explore Europa ever since Lucifer was created in 2010. However, none of these attempts has been successful. Every probe that has attempted to land on Europa has been destroyed on approach. The debris from every probe falls to the surface of the planet, and the debris from some of the first ships to be destroyed is [[Cargo Cult|venerated]] by the Europans.

Finally, there is a Monolith on the moon, which is worshipped by the Europans more than anything else. The Europans assume, correctly, that the Monolith is what keeps humans at bay. Dave Bowman and HAL lie dormant in this Monolith. The Monolith is the guardian of Europa, and will continue to prevent contact between humans and Europans for as long as it sees fit.